The Texas Tribune reports that Rep. Mike Conaway, a Midland Republican and chairman of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, has begun laying the foundation for the next rendition of the farm bill. He recently hosted other congressmen during a tour of West Texas.
Ostensibly, the tour was intended to give the congressmen an opportunity to hear about the concerns of farmers. In reality, it was about cronyism.
The bulk of the spending that results from the farm bill goes for food subsidies for the poor. As the Tribune notes,
The resulting coalition behind the bill tends to be conservative rural congressmen like Conaway and U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington of Lubbock, who also attended the summit; and moderates and urban liberals aiming to secure funding to feed the poor.
In other words, rural congressmen get some pork for their constituents, and moderates and Leftists get a lot of pork for theirs. And providing pork is one way to generate support at election time.
If farm subsidies and food subsidies were addressed in separate bills, it is doubtful that either would pass. But the unlikely coalition between conservatives and Leftists demonstrates that the farm bill is less about helping farmers and the poor than it is about securing votes at the expense of taxpayers.